Common Personal Computer

Maintenance
If you are one of the users who use a computer
frequently, it goes without saying that you want the
system to be at its best all the time. So, you pay
much attention to personal PC maintenance,
discusses 13 essential and easy computer
maintenance steps that even beginners can do.
 Importance of Computer Maintenance

Computers play a vital role in your daily life and you can
use a PC to do many things, for example, surf the Internet,
watch movies, play games, deal with work, etc. PC
maintenance is very important to ensure your computer
runs smoothly.
 Importance of Computer Maintenance

If you have ever lost important files due to hard drive

crash, spending much time in removing a nasty virus or
frying a CPU since you didn’t clean the fan, perhaps you
clearly know why you need to maintain your computer.
 Importance of Computer Maintenance

Prevention is better than cure! If you take some time to

perform some basic PC maintenance tasks, you can not
only make sure the machine has optimal performance but
also lengthen the device’s lifespan. Otherwise, the few
minutes that you didn’t spend on desktop/laptop
maintenance could become hours of unnecessary work in
the future.
 Importance of Computer Maintenance

Now, let’s look at the computer maintenance steps that

you should do on a regular basis and how to do them
effectively. Firstly, you should know its types.
 Types of Computer Maintenance

When it comes to how to maintain a computer, you

should consider this case: both hardware and
software of your PC should be maintained since
they are important and will have a decisive impact
on the operation of the system. So, computer
maintenance is related to them.
Besides, there are four types of PC maintenance
and here is everything you should know about it.
1. Predictive Maintenance
This refers to using a diagnostic tool to anticipate
possible failures and avoid some possible issues. And
one common way is monitoring your computer system
and checking whether it works properly. This tool can
control and inform you of battery levels, the
temperature of the CPU, and other features.
Besides, there are four types of PC maintenance
and here is everything you should know about it.
2. Preventive Maintenance
This type is common and it is carried out to prevent
possible failures, improve the function of a system and
prolong the life of various computer components.
Preventive maintenance is useful since it can detect
weak points in the system, decrease the system
downtime and reduce the number of repairs.
Besides, there are four types of PC maintenance
and here is everything you should know about it.

2. Preventive Maintenance

Preventive software maintenance usually includes

scanning and cleaning through antivirus, the creation of
backups freeing-up of your disk space and RAM. The
preventive hardware maintenance should refer to the
periodic cleaning of equipment and its components.
Besides, there are four types of PC maintenance
and here is everything you should know about it.

3. Corrective Maintenance

If the previous two types don’t work and a problem

occurred, you should perform this maintenance. In
addition to solving the failure problems, you should find
the cause and prevent it from happening again.
Besides, there are four types of PC maintenance
and here is everything you should know about it.
4. Evolutionary maintenance

The last type is to develop the system of your

computer so it can perform more efficiently. This type
concerns both hardware and software, so you can
update Windows and change various parts of the PC
for better performance.
 Computer Maintenance Tips

Now you have clearly known the detailed description of

types of computer maintenance. In the following part,
some useful tips are offered to you and all of them
belong to one of these types. Here is the computer
maintenance checklist.
1. Clean Your Computer

If dust is on your computer, it looks gross and the PC will

trap heat reducing its performance and lifespan. So, you
can open the case (for a desktop) and blow the dust out.
Besides, use a damp cloth to wipe the case. For a desktop,
don’t forget the monitor.
1. Clean Your Computer

Additionally, dust can clog up your cooling fans and

keyboard. So, you should also clean them. A compressed
air canister is helpful. Moreover, don’t neglect ports and
crevices of a laptop and desktop.
2. Don’t Block the Vents

Like people, machines also need to breathe. So, don’t

block the vent, which aims to ensure your computer can
remain cool enough to work properly.
3. Keep Your Food and Drink Away from PCs

Don’t eat and drink over your laptop or desktop since

the consequence is serious. For example, your keyboard
can be destroyed after a single spill or food residues
penetrate the case of your device and damage the
internal components.
4. Don’t Overcharge Your Battery

Don’t keep your device plugged in at all times. This is

because unnecessary charging can retard the regenerative
capability of the battery. And the ability to hold a charge
can drop off a year later. Usually, you can make a setting
for your laptop to let it not charge when reaching 20%.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

As a computer owner, the most important thing you can do

is to back up the important data stored on your hard drive.
This tip is also a vital part of regular personal computer
maintenance since unexpected hard drive failure, serious
computer problems, viruses, etc. can cause data loss.
Besides, system also crashes and cannot boot.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

Thus, create a backup now.

If you don’t know how to do this work, you can ask our
professional, reliable and free PC backup software for
help - MiniTool ShadowMaker.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

As an all-in-one backup software, it is designed to back

up the Windows operating system, files & folders, disks
and partitions on a regular basis. Differential and
incremental backup are supported. In addition, file sync
and disk clone can be realized by this software.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

Now, get MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition to start a

backup from the following button. Note that this edition
only gives you a 30-day free trial. To use it all the time,
get its Pro Edition from MiniTool Store.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

Now, get MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition to start a

backup from the following button. Note that this edition
only gives you a 30-day free trial. To use it all the time,
get its Pro Edition from MiniTool Store.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

1. Launch this
software.
2. Go to
the Backup page,
click Source and
choose files that you
want to back up.
5. Create a Backup for Your Important Files and System

3. Click Destination to
choose a target path that
can be a USB flash drive,
external hard drive, SSD,
etc.

4. Finally, click Back up
Now to immediately start
the file backup.
6. Run Antivirus and Malware Scans Regularly

This computer maintenance tip should go without saying

but we say it anyway. Any computer should have
conventional virus protection and spyware detection
software to monitor the system for threats in real time
and remove them to keep the PC safe.
6. Run Antivirus and Malware Scans Regularly

In Windows 10, Windows Defender can offer you real-

time virus & threat prevention, account protection,
firewall & network protection, etc.
6. Run Antivirus and Malware Scans Regularly

Alternatively, you can install an antivirus or anti-

malware program on your computer, for example, 
Malwarebytes or Avast. Just run such a tool to perform a
full scan for viruses, spyware, malware, etc.
6. Run Antivirus and Malware Scans Regularly
7. Always Run Your Firewall

Windows Firewall in the operating system is the first

line of defense against malware. It can filter some
information from the Internet and block potentially
harmful programs from installing. This tool should
always be running. It is pretty useful when you install
new apps from a third-party source other than the
manufacturer or developer.
7. Always Run Your Firewall

Just go to Control Panel, click Windows Defender

Firewall > Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or
off and ensure the Firewall is enabled.
7. Always Run Your Firewall
Besides, there are four types of PC maintenance and here
is everything you should know about it.
8. Uninstall Programs You Don’t Use

When using a computer for a long time, you may have

installed all sorts of programs. Sometimes you may
forget or not realize you have installed them. These
programs slow down your computer over time and take
much disk space. Even some run in the background and
eat up the system resource.
8. Uninstall Programs You Don’t Use

So, you should uninstall unnecessary programs. To do

this work, go to Control Panel > Programs and
Features to the app list. Then, right-click each program
to choose the Uninstall option.
8. Uninstall Programs You Don’t Use
9. Update Windows System and Programs
One of the best ways to make sure your PC is at the best
state is to keep your operating system up-to-date. For the
Windows system, Microsoft always keeps rolling out
updates and security patches to improve the overall user
experience.
You can go to Windows Update, check for available
updates and restart the PC to install them. Besides,
ensure you install the latest driver software.
9. Update Windows System and Programs
10. Clean Your Disk

As time goes on, your PC is filled with a large amount of

unnecessary information including temporary files,
thumbnails, web pages, old Windows installation, and
more others. Much disk space is occupied and the PC
may turn slow.
10. Clean Your Disk

Cleaning your disk is an excellent computer maintenance

tip. In Windows, you can ask Disk Cleanup for help. If
you are using Windows 10, you can go to Settings >
System > Storage to delete temporary files.
10. Clean Your Disk
11. Use a Disk Space Analysis Tool

To keep your PC clean and free from un-required data,

understanding what is on your computer is helpful. A
disk space analysis tool can scan your PC and show you
all your data.
11. Use a Disk Space Analysis Tool

Here you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard since it

offers a feature called Space Analyzer to scan your disk,
let you know what is taking up your space, and easily
and intuitively display the result.
11. Use a Disk Space Analysis Tool
12. Clean Your PC System
To ensure your PC stays fast and junk-free, you can use
a PC cleaning tool to clean some files like cache, logs,
fragments, temporary files, etc. from the Windows
system since these files can take up much space, cause
software errors and slow down the system.

CCleaner is one of the most excellent PC cleaning tools

and it can clean junk files wonderfully.
12. Clean Your PC System
13. Use a CPU and GPU Temperature Monitoring Tool

As is well known, PC overheating can be a really serious

problem since it can cause data corruption and PC
components permanent damage. In your computer, CPU
and GPU are the parts that are easy to be heating.
Keeping an eye on the temperature will help you keep
them cool if needed.
13. Use a CPU and GPU Temperature Monitoring Tool

So, using a CPU and GPU temperature monitoring tool

can be a good computer maintenance step. HWMonitor
is recommendable.